Texas topples No. 11 Kansas in huge home win

AUSTIN, Texas — When his players were 15 minutes late to shootaround today, Texas men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart felt more confident than ever about his team.

Heading into a huge home showdown with No. 11 Kansas, the Longhorns called a players-only meeting that wound up running a bit long, but led to a renewed fire and consistency. Texas then toppled the Jayhawks 73-63 Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center.

“Today they were 15 minutes late coming to shootaround because they had a meeting 15 minutes before shootaround and it went over, it went long,” Smart said, “which is fine with me, those guys getting connected.”

Seniors Dylan Osetkowski and Kerwin “Snoop” Roach II paced the 'Horns (12-9 overall, 4-4 in Big 12 Conference games) to the upset victory, while Jase Febres nailed a few huge three-pointers and Jaxson Hayes kept Kansas (16-5, 5-3 against Big 12 teams) off-balance under the basket. Osetkowski finished with 16 points while Roach had 15, including 6-of-7 free-throw shooting down the stretch, allowing Texas to control the clock to secure the win.

“Coach (Smart) always talks about being the aggressors, being the first team ready, being the team that does more of what goes into winning,” Osetkowski said. “I feel like we did that tonight.”